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One possible
explanation that is not as easily discounted, but not yet proven
conclusive, is that the lights are electrical atmospheric charges. In areas where rocks, deep below the earth’s surface, are shifting and
grinding, an electrical charge can be created. This area, lying on a
fault line running east from New Madrid,
Missouri, westward to
Oklahoma was the site of four earthquakes during
the eighteenth century. These types of electrical fields are most
commonly associated with earthquakes.
Other interesting legends
also abound about the light that provide a more ghostly explanation. The oldest is the story of a
Quapaw Indian
maiden who fell in love with a young brave. However, her father
would not allow her to marry the man as he did not have a large enough
dowry. The pair eloped but were soon pursued by a party of
warriors. According to the legend, when the couple was close to
being apprehended, they joined hands above the Spring River and leaped to
their deaths. It was shortly after this event, that the light began
to appear and was attributed to the spirits of the young lovers.
Another legend tells of a
miner whose cabin was attacked by
Indians
while he was away. Upon his return, he found his wife and children
missing and is said to continue looking for them along the old road,
searching with his lantern.
Others say the
Spook Light is the ghost of an Osage
Indian
chief who was decapitated in the area and continues to search for his lost
head, with a lantern held high in his hand.
Sightings of the
Spook Light are common, sometimes even reported
to be seen inside vehicles. A few people, who have been walking
along the road at night, have even claimed to have felt the heat of the
ball as it passed near them.
Reportedly, the moving anomaly, growing brighter and
dimmer, larger and smaller, can be seen approximately twelve miles
southwest of
Joplin,
Missouri. To get to Devil's Promenade Road, take
Interstate 44 west from
Joplin but before you reach the
Oklahoma border, take the next to the last
Missouri exit onto Star Route 43. Traveling south for about four miles, you will reach a crossroads which is Devil's Promenade Road.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated August, 2009.
Book your
lodging in
Joplin right
HERE online
~~~~~~~~~
Reader Update
I saw on your list of most haunted places
the name of a place that is very close to my heart. The spook light at
Hornet,
Missouri.
My great uncle, Garland Middleton, owned a museum there for many years. He inherited the nickname "Spooky"
from the former owner
The spooklight
has been studied by scientists from all
over, Corps of Engineers, and many more people and for over a hundred
years and it has never been explained. I have seen it lots of times
myself. I've seen it split into four glowing balls turn red then blue
and disappear. It'll be in front of you. then disappear and then be
behind you. It's literally went through cars. Sometimes it comes out
sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. The best time to see it is
after midnight when it's really quiet. They tried to close the road it
to the public several years ago. Talk about a 4-state uproar!!!!!! It's still open. :) The story goes back to Indian days.
Submitted by:
Diane Melton, October, 2005.
A Reader's Story About
the Spooklight in Oklahoma
My name is
Jackie and I grow up in
Quapaw,
Oklahoma, attending grade school
and high school through the 10th grade before we moved. My
father grew up with the light and I would have to say I saw the
Spook Light at least 175 times or more during
the time that I lived there in the 1960s.
There used to be an old bar near
Spook Light Road where my
dad would take us when we had company from out of town. We kids
loved to go there, play pool, and listen to the old man who owned the bar
tell us stories about the light. Often we would sit outside on the car to
watch for the spook light. We had to be real quiet or it would not
come out. As we watched, all of sudden it would appear at the other
end of the road. My dad would leave his lights out and try to creep
up on it, but always, by the time we got near the light it would be
suddenly be behind us.
It was a regular tradition that our
family would attend the
Indian
pow-wows on the every 4th of July holiday. On one of these
occasions, after we left the pow-wow, we went to my Aunt’s house, which
was just right off
Spook Light Road. As
we were drying there about 10:00 p.m., a light came up behind us weaving
back and forth across the road like a drunk. My mom insisted that we
pull over and let the car pass; however, as soon as we did, the light took
off across the land.
I have seen it with a big white light with a
small green one below it, as well as it sometimes appearing as a red or
yellow-orange colored orb. I believe, at one time Readers Digest
came out with a story on it in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
On another occasion my father took me and all
our friends out into the country where we had such a bizarre experience,
it would make you believe almost anything. At this place there was a
fence upon land where an
Indian
and his wife were said to have been killed by a white man. According
to the legend, the Indian stated before he died that he and his wife would
always be around. At the fence, dad had us hold our hands out with a
piece of bread over the fence. Suddenly, we would feel something
taking the bread from our hands. Even with a flash light, you could
see that one second it was there, and the next, the bread was gone. This was very scary to me at the time.
When I grew older, my dates always took
me to
Spook Light Road
and along the way we would cross the Spring River Bridge, its wooden
structure rocking side to side so badly, that I was frightened before we
ever reached Spook Light Road. I always
saw the light appear near
Quapaw,
Oklahoma.
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